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Winchendon vet faces 15 counts of animal cruelty

By Katina Caraganis , kcaraganis @sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
08/26/2014 08:00:53 AM EDT

GARDNER -- A Winchendon veterinarian is facing 15 counts of animal cruelty after a complaint was lodged with authorities over the allegedly deplorable condition countless animals were being kept in at the Heart and Soul Farm.

Michaela Krafve, of 749 Brown St., was arraigned on the animal-abuse charges Friday in Gardner District Court.

The animal control officer received a message Aug. 8 for a report of horses, cows and a donkey damaging property at 371 Rice Road, according to court documents.

Monica S. Kleber, an animal health inspector, asked that a police officer accompany her to the property to help "assess the situation," court documents show.

When they first arrived, they said they saw a number of large livestock animals properly maintained and secured but there were approximately 30 goats and sheep roaming free around the property.

Kleber reportedly heard noises coming from a nearby horse trailer and upon further investigation, they found 19 goats and sheep inside without food or water. They also noticed a dead lamb on the property, according to a police report.

Kleber wrote that it appeared the lamb "recently died within the few previous hours."

She also observed there was little to no water and no food or hay in the pens where the goats and sheep were fenced in. Additionally, she saw a goat that was struggling to walk because of overgrown hooves and other injuries.

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Several bones of various animals, including legs, jaw bones and multiple skulls, were strewn about the property.

Krafve said when one of her animals would die, she would bury them on the property but the other animals would dig them up. She also said there were two lambs stillborn recently, court documents show.

The MSPCA was immediately notified, and Kleber was ordered to immediately secure the property and not leave until MSPCA officials arrived.

According to an official MSPCA report, their law-enforcement department "has had numerous interactions concerning the proper care of her animals dating back to 2009."

Their report noted that on Aug. 4, it was 86 degrees out, humid and sunny.

A barn and paddock area was seen where two draft-style horses, a donkey and two cows were being kept. One of the Holstein cows appeared to be "very thin," according to the report.

Upon further inspection, the Holstein's hip bones were very prominent, the report stated.

"I was able to observe, in plain view, various dilapidated pens housing sheep and many lame goats and some turkeys," according to a report written by Sgt. Martha Parkhurst with the MSPCA.

She also noted many of the animals hooves were overgrown and that some of the pens were "unsanitary" and there were feces and other debris in many of them.

Other pens, she wrote, lacked shade, proper shelter and many water tubs were empty.

There was a kennel that was half buried in manure, she wrote.

"The entire pen had an over-abundance of manure in it and it was unsanitary," she wrote.

Also on the property was a chicken coop housing 33 chickens and ducks.

"The pen was filthy with manure and there was no water in the small five-gallon bucket at the front of the coop," she wrote.

Animal Control Officer Charlene Thompson said when she arrived at the property, she noticed a "lack of significant shelter" for the animals. She requested that Krafve come to the property.

Krafve had hay brought in for the animals under orders from the MSPCA and water was turned on for the animals.

"When the chickens and ducks saw the water, they rushed to the fence to get at it and were trying to drink the wet dirt from the runoff," she wrote. "When they received water, they rushed towards it, clearly in need of hydration."

She said a similar situation unfolded when the hay was delivered to the property.

"When the hay arrived, all the animals were very vocal and rushed to it, seeming as though they were extremely hungry," she wrote.

Krafve promised to euthanized two goats that were in poor health. When Thompson went back to the property the next day, neither had been put down. A number of goats, chickens, ducks, and sheep were being taken to auction that day.

Krafve told animal officials she euthanized the two goats Aug. 6 but failed to provide any proof she actually did it, court documents show.

There was also no hay or grain on the property when MSPCA officials arrived. Krafve said she had just returned from a show and that she planned to get it that morning but one of her clients had an emergency she needed to tend to.

MSPCA officials asked how she went to a show knowing she would run out of hay, "and she had no answer," according to court documents.

Krafve took them to her home, where she had approximately 20 rabbits housed in a trailer open on both ends.

"The smell of urine and feces was strong. It became quite pungent once inside," Parkhurst wrote.

The trailer had no working lights, and she noted 26 rabbits housed in "old, rusty, broken cases" that appeared to be rotting.

She also observed rabbits sitting in their own urine and feces, she wrote.

"It appeared the cages had not been cleaned in weeks, if not months," she wrote. Their water bowls were also "bone dry."

"She said she had lost interest in the rabbits in the last few months," according to Parkhurst. Krafve also admitted she had a hoarding problem and would take the rabbits away the next day.

The MSPCA ordered she reduce the number of animals she keeps.

She was released on her own personal recognizance and is due back in court Oct. 3 for a pre-trial hearing.

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